SALON MODERNE

Hair salons are curious little worlds and their window-dressing an art unto itself fascinating, perplexing, risible and often divorced from the core business itself. Showcased in this collection of 360 images assembled by editors Eggelho fer and Lutz are veritable gems of eccentric aesthetics: a window adorned with Corinthian columns, fishing nets and shells, colorful life preservers during the summer season, or photos of Miss Switzerlands, past and present. But what could Swiss hairdressers possibly be thinking when they place a nibbled pinecone and a wooden hedgehog (half of whose spines are broken) on a Styrofoam pedestal in the window? The sheer diversity of hair salons one-off productions is unrivaled in any other line of retail business. That such a decorative culture should survive into the age of professional branding is but one more reason to devote a whole book to this bizarre phenomenon.